I always assumed he was a user, just like I still assume Ortiz, Puljos and Delgado were juicing when they were putting up monster numbers.

Weren’t they all?

That said – and Ramirez has the ultimate story to tell about why he was using some kind of female fertility pill – I’m having a hard time piling on Man-Ram or any of these other cats who’ve been caught because I don’t see the difference between those guys and say, Brian Roberts, who ADMITTED he used steroids.

No one seems to pile on when a guy comes out and says, “Yeah, I used.”

But we pile on when the guy tests positive.

That…I don’t get.

Do I think Ramirez used steroids? Sure. That said, is there a chance – the slightest of slightest perhaps? – that he’s telling the truth and the drugs he used were, in fact, provided to him by a physician who thought they were “clean”?

I guess.

In Roberts’ case – and a few others who came “clean” after being “clean” – why is there no animosity pointed in their direction?

After all, they actually admitted they broke the rules and cheated.

I don’t care anymore.

Really, I don’t.

I’m starting to put a lot of stock in the concept that players should just be allowed to use steroids.

Like a horse using Lasix that gets noted in the Daily Racing Form (*Lasix), why not just put a big “S” on the player’s uniform in the form of a shoulder patch or something and let him swing for the fences or throw fastballs to his heart’s delight?

Why not?

Who cares?

The players are always looking to get the edge.

They’re willing to do it at the expense of the game and, worst of all, they’re willing to do it at the expense of the players who DON’T cheat.